Apple Is Shutting Down My Photo Stream—Switch to iCloud Photos

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Apple has quietly announced that it is shutting down the My Photo Stream service, the company’s first iCloud-based effort at helping users sync photos between devices. My Photo Stream had numerous limitations but was free and didn’t count against iCloud storage quotas. If you’re still using My Photo Stream, note that photos will stop uploading as of June 26, and all My Photo Stream photos will be removed from iCloud on July 26; they’ll remain on your individual devices. Apple is encouraging all remaining My Photo Stream users to switch to iCloud Photos, which is more capable in every way but might require you to pay for additional iCloud+ storage to hold your photo library. Those who don’t want their photos in the cloud might check out Mylio Photos+. Contact us if you need assistance migrating to iCloud Photos or ensuring all your various photos are backed up securely.

(Featured image by iStock.com/mpiokpee)

Need to Mask Nearby Noise? Try Ventura’s Background Sounds

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Do you have trouble concentrating at work because of a loud office environment? Or do you work at home and want to block out the sounds of kids or appliances? In macOS 13 Ventura, Apple added background sounds you can play to mask what’s going on around you. Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Audio and enable Background Sounds. You can pick a sound, set the volume, and select an option to turn the sound off when your Mac is inactive. Next time you’re mentally stewing over it being too loud to work, try this feature. A pair of AirPods (Pro or Max, in particular) might be helpful, too. If you find background sounds helpful but want more variety, look for websites like A Soft Murmur or apps like Noizio.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Apiwan Borrikonratchata)

Pay Attention to Unsolicited Facebook Password Reset Messages

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We’ve seen an uptick in attacks on Facebook accounts that generate email messages like the one below. It’s saying someone is attempting to reset your Facebook password in order to access your account. If you didn’t ask to reset your Facebook password within the past 5 minutes, do not enter the provided code! In fact, do nothing with a message like this, since you can’t easily tell if it’s a legitimate message from Facebook or a phishing attack. As long as your email account hasn’t been compromised, you have nothing to worry about, but consider any such messages as encouragement to have strong, unique passwords for your email account and any social media services. Also, we highly recommend turning on two-factor authentication for these accounts. Of course, if you get a second message saying that your password was reset, immediately secure your account.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Nicholas77)

Social Media: If you receive unexpected password reset email messages from Facebook, don’t worry—but don’t click anything! Use them as encouragement to ensure your email and social media passwords are strong, unique, and protected with two-factor authentication.

Avoid Confusion by Setting iPhone Password Autofill to Only One App

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Let’s say you use 1Password (or another third-party password manager) on an iPhone or iPad. When that’s the case, it’s easy to end up in a situation where your device will present passwords from both 1Password and iCloud Keychain, possibly along with another app. That won’t break anything, but as you can see in the screenshot below, dueling password managers can be confusing, particularly if one doesn’t have up-to-date passwords. To make logging in easier, go to Settings > Passwords > Password Options and select just one app in Allow Filling From. For instance, if you’re using 1Password, turn off iCloud Passwords & Keychain and all the other apps.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Kostiantyn Filichkin)

Social Media: Do you suffer from dueling password managers on your iPhone or iPad? If you’re using a third-party password manager, turn off password autofill for iCloud Passwords & Keychain and any other apps to avoid confusion.

Apple Starts Releasing Rapid Security Responses for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac

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By now, you’ve probably seen a new form of update for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS: the Rapid Security Response. Early in May, Apple released the first instances of these updates, which the company had promised for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS 13 Ventura when those operating systems were first announced. Let’s answer some of the questions we’ve been hearing.

What are Rapid Security Responses?

Rapid Security Responses are security updates that Apple wants to distribute as quickly and broadly as possible. Users often delay installing standard operating system updates because they’re huge downloads, interrupt work for a long time while installing, and occasionally cause new problems.

To address these concerns, Rapid Security Responses are much smaller, install far more quickly (sometimes without a restart), and can easily be removed if they cause problems.

What security vulnerabilities do Rapid Security Responses address?

Apple released no security notes for its first set of Rapid Security Responses, and we don’t anticipate that changing for future releases. The point of a Rapid Security Response is to block a serious vulnerability that’s likely being exploited in the wild, and Apple doesn’t describe such fixes until it has patched vulnerable operating systems, including older versions, tvOS, and watchOS, none of which can take advantage of Rapid Security Responses. If this last set of updates is any indication, Apple will identify the Rapid Security Response fixes in security notes for the next full operating system update, which will also include the same fixes.

How do I install a Rapid Security Response?

Rapid Security Responses use the same software update mechanism as Apple’s other operating system updates. You can and generally should let Rapid Security Responses install automatically. That’s the default, but check to make sure.

  • iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates, and look at “Security Responses & System Files.”
  • macOS: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update, and click the ⓘ next to Automatic Updates. Then look at “Install Security Responses and system files.”

On recent iPhones and Macs, the installation time was quick, with the device being ready to use again within 2–4 minutes, including a restart. Older devices took longer, and future Rapid Security Responses may take more or less time.

How can I revert if a Rapid Security Response causes a problem?

Apple makes this easy in both iOS/iPadOS and macOS, with the amount of time being roughly similar to how long the Rapid Security Response took to install:

  • iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > About > iOS/iPadOS Version, tap Remove Security Response, and confirm the action.
  • macOS: Go to System Settings > General > About, click the ⓘ next to the macOS version, click Remove & Restart, and confirm the action.

How can I tell if I’m running a Rapid Security Response?

With this first Rapid Security Response, iOS and iPadOS both posted a notification informing the user of the update; macOS did not.

More generally, devices updated with a Rapid Security Response will have a letter after their version number, such as 16.4.1 (a), and the letter will disappear with the next full update, such as iOS 16.5. To determine what version your devices are running:

  • iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > About, and look at the iOS/iPadOS Version line.
  • macOS: Choose About This Mac from the Apple menu, and look at the macOS line.

Given what we know now, we recommend that everyone install Rapid Security Responses as soon as they’re available. If you notice a problem afterward, you can remove it. The only caveat is that if your employer manages your device, they may prefer to delay the Rapid Security Response installation until they’re comfortable with the changes.

(Featured image by iStock.com/champpixs)